Once again, Aston Martin finds itself at a crossroads. Of course, when you're in a Vanquish, a DB model, or some other classic from the Aston Martin line, a crossroads isn't the worst place to be.
In a $925 million deal, Ford recently dispatched its most-exclusive British bauble—Jaguar and Land Rover being the others—to its latest owners, the 13th since the company's founding in 1914. The new crew includes British motor sports entrepreneur David Richards; John Sinders, the American car collector and Aston enthusiast; and a pair of Kuwaiti investment firms.
Now, for any British car maker, fallow periods, bankruptcies, and ownership upheavals are a habitual quirk, like a set of wipers than conks out when it rains. But the recent sale of Aston comes not as the company is on the skids, but in vibrant health. Give Ford credit: After assuming full control in 1994, the company quickly brought Aston into the modern era, its deep Dearborn pockets financing the brand's first purpose-built factory in Gaydon, England. Ford also smartly avoided micro-meddling with the historic marque, and Aston responded with the Ian Callum–designed Vanquish and DB9, followed by its latest, the Porsche-challenging Vantage.
At the time of Ford's bailout, Aston was producing barely 200 cars a year. Now it's topping 7,000 sales worldwide, far more than at any point in its history.
Naturally, business is the last thing on my mind when I get a chance to drive these serially gorgeous machines. My personal introduction to Aston came in the California desert in the late 1990s on a once-in-a-lifetime drive to Death Valley with a quartet of classic sports cars: A 1961 Aston Martin DB4 Series 2 (which, like all DBs, took its initials from Sir David Brown, the industrialist who revived Aston in 1947 and was responsible for some of its fastest and best-loved cars); a Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso; a '56 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing; and a '63 fuelie Sting Ray.
As our convoy set out from Santa Barbara, the Aston seemed the wallflower. I found myself jockeying for position in the flashier 12-cylinder Ferrari. But like an understated English gentleman, the Aston steadily won our group over with its suave style, roomy two-plus-two seating and 240-horsepower, 3.7-liter six. That DB4, one of just 1,100 made, took its initials from Sir David Brown, the industrialist who revived Aston in 1947 and was responsible for some of its fastest and best-loved cars.
Those included the DB5, its original prototype used as James Bond's gadget-laden car in 1964's Goldfinger, creating the lasting link between Aston Martin and 007. That Anglophile's dream match was briefly broken up by the Bavarians in 1995's Golden Eye via the regrettable BMW Z3, a car that was neither exotic, English, nor exclusive—three big strikes against any Bond car. Pierce Brosnan was later reunited with Aston via the Vanquish in Die Another Day, though the "Vanish's" laughable cloak of invisibility made it clear that franchise changes were in order. And so Daniel Craig, the blond, badass heir to Connery, found his chiseled equal in the Aston Martin DBS V12 featured in last year's tough-minded Casino Royale.
That DBS, based on the current DB9, goes on sale later this year, replacing the departing Vanquish as Aston works to develop a new flagship model.
Like the vast majority of motorheads, it's likely that I'll never actually own an Aston Martin. But I'll sleep better knowing they're still around, for those lucky enough to be blessed by both good fortune and good taste.
